Blogs from Oklahoma, United States, North America
Will Rogers World Airport
Published: May 24th 2012North America » United States » Oklahoma » Oklahoma City
May 24th 2012
May 25, 2012 (Oklahoma City) The delegation all made it to the airport, through checkin lines and security. All bags checked, carryon's and seat pads in hand. Direct American Airlines flight to Los Angeles, then Cathay Pacific to Hong Kong...arriving tomorrow at 6:50 PM local time. Off to adventure!... read more
May 23rd 2012
May 23, 2012 (Oklahoma City, OK) This year will be the 10th annual trip for the Dean McGee Eye Institute team heading to Chengdu, Sichuan, China. We hope to continue developing our academic exchange programs with both Sichuan People's Provincial Hospital and West China Hospitals as well as major advancements in the Blindness Prevention programs performing cataract surgery for the underserved rural populations in the Province. By our latest estimates, there are 1 million persons blind from advanced cataract in Sichuan Province, and most of these could be cured with cataract surgery and lens implants. We are looking forward to a safe and productive trip, and I hope to be able to keep everyone informed through the blog. Feel free to share the link to the blog with others who might be interested or email me ... read more
Day 3 - Sullivan, MO to Miami, OK
Published: May 15th 2012North America » United States » Oklahoma » Miami
May 14th 2012
Today brought us beautiful weather and much more relaxed riding. We spent the day on Route 66, with only minimal time on the Interstate as we continued our trip southwest. We spent the majority of the day in Missouri passing through a lot of the small towns that used to support the traffic making the cross-country trip before the Interstate was finished. There were a lot of abandoned old garages and buildings, and a lot of old, rusted-out cars, but it really was full of character. We also got to see plenty of the kitschy things I expected. We saw the world's largest rocking chair, spent some time chatting with a guy and his wife who maintain a historical gas station for tourists to visit, and saw the crapduster (yes, crapduster, not a cropduster). We passed ... read more
March 15th 2012
March 15, 2012 (Oklahoma City, OK) We leave for Swaziland shortly after noon local time today. We fly via Delta to Atlanta and then directly to Johannesberg South Africa - a bit of a jaunt! It all comes at a pretty busy time, but looking forward to the adventure, seeing another continent and seeing if we can help make an impact in this poor country. Its a small country just North East of South Africa. It has some noteriety in having the highest prevalence of HIV/AIDS in the world and this has engendered a global call for assistance to the country. Part of the broader team we're traveling with will be focused on that aspect of care. Our work will focus on helping the country's only ophthlamologist plan and establish resources to improve eye care services ... read more
March 15th 2012
March 15, 2012 (Oklahoma City, OK) We're at the Will Rogers World Airport ready to embark for the other side of the world. Meeting up with the entire team members - still not sure how many are going. Our DMEI team is 4 people: Dr. Farris, Dr. Hobbs, Dr. Adesina and myself (Hobbs and Adesina are senior residents). We're all counting on Adesina (of Nigerian heritage) to guide us through this trip, but I think he's more Okie than Nigerian! He said he stands out in Nigeria too...because he's bigger than most Nigerians. Ron Hobbs thinks its because his parents fed him too much. I think it's because he wears a USA baseball cap! :) Lots of luggage with strange medical equipment and supplies. We got it all checked through just fine...now we'll see how easy ... read more
November 1st 2011
I had one of the best experiences of my life over Fall Break this year. I went on the school trip to NYC with a bunch of students I didn't know. It was the chance of a lifetime for me. The NYC media tour has opened my eyes to many new cultures and opportunities. In four short days, we visited Clear Channel Communications, Paley Media Center, the CEO of IRTS and CBS... Not to mention all the adventures we went on outside of these seminars. The trip started out hectic, to say the least! Our flight got cancelled and rescheduled. I was up until the early morning constantly checking Facebook to see what the status of our flight was. I ended up oversleeping and racing to the airport like a crazy person. I was on a ... read more
October 2nd 2011
Hi Again. You won't believe this..we are sniffing out every casino there is! The drive is boring through Oklahoma to Texas, as there is so much wide open space between pit stops. The traffic is incredibly great! 75 mph most of the way! We finally landed in Amarillo, Tx for the night. Great Hotel; the rate only $33.00/night. The Camelot Inn.. it even looks like a castle. Nice suites, so we are comfortable for the night with breakfast on the house in the AM. We are staying in separate rooms, so we can get along in the morning! Will head for Albuquerque tomorrow. Still paying about $3.29 a gallon for gas.... read more
October 1st 2011
Hi again! Leaving Branson, MO and heading for home in Palm Desert, Ca. Only got to El Reno, Oklahoma (a small suburb of Oklahoma City). Didn't get too far as Ginger and Pat saw a "Quilt and Material" store along the way. A few miles down the road a "Casino" was calling out to us. Didn't do to bad, but nothing big to brag about. In El Reno, we had the best Mexican Dinner ever. If your ever in El Reno, just ask the locals about it! GREAT! We decided to "crash" for the night and start out early and proceed to Amarillo, Texas. See you soon!... read more
Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma continued
Published: September 29th 2011North America » United States » Oklahoma
September 29th 2011
Driving, Driving Driving. Have decided to take it easy for a couple of days and do some more site seeing. Stayed another night in a KOA camp site(in a cute little cabin) in Clinton, Oklahoma. Got in late and found out the nearest bathroom facility was closed for the season! Yikes, what do we do now?? Thank heavens for forsight and we brought our own porta-potty! Did get to the main showers and bath facilities in the morning. Met some really nice people and had a good nights sleep. Will be off early am for our Final destination of Branson, Missouri. Still having fun, but the driving is getting old! The toll roads were heavenly with very light traffic..great for traveling. Ooh..almost forgot what cheap gasoline prices were. We are now paying about $3.30 cents a ... read more
Seeing the USA on our RV
Published: September 27th 2011North America » United States » Oklahoma » ShawneeSeptember 27th 2011
Arriving in Shawnee we're guided to our parking by the 2011 National SMART Muster crew and struggled with a malfunctioning anchor/leveler which caused us to park in a relatively flat area and wait until the muster was completed to fix the anchor (with the help of fellow traveler and expert mechanic Larry Eliot who previously aided us on the Alaskan Caravan). The annual muster was well hosted with many activities and tours, more than enough to eat, and wonderful fellowship for all. The Nomads Chapter hosted breakfast and happy hour munchies, living up to their definition: Nomads are wanderers in search of food. We again noted that SMART's main problem is that those eligible (military veterans) aren't aware of the wonderful opportunities of membership. We also saw Oklahoma City's National Historic Memorial to those killed in ... read more
